


Haunted Manor

by Dragongoddess13



Series: Ghost Whisperer AU [13]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Ghost Whisperer AU, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:22:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26129488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragongoddess13/pseuds/Dragongoddess13
Summary: He shakes his head. He could lie, but he knows better and quite frankly, he doesn’t want to lie. “I guess with everything that’s happened in the last few weeks I’m just a little on edge when it comes to things like this.” she nods, seeming to understand what he’s trying to say. “I just… I’m not sure I want to know what Jaqen meant, but I have a feeling we’re getting closer and closer to finding out.”
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Series: Ghost Whisperer AU [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715362
Comments: 43
Kudos: 141





	1. An Odd Request

Haunted Manor

Chapter 1: An Odd Request 

xXx

Gendry looks up as he becomes aware of a body standing beside his desk. Stannis Baratheon is a tall man, about as tall as Gendry himself. He smiles slightly down at Gendry’s surprise, and the expression looks a little out of place on his usually stern face. He brushes it off though, standing from his seat and accepting the hand Stannis holds out to him. 

“Gendry, how are you?” he asks. 

“Well, and yourself?” 

Stannis smiles ruefully. “I’ve been better, quite honestly. That’s actually why I’m here. Do you have a moment to speak?” 

“Sure, do you want to go somewhere private?” 

Stannis shakes his head. “No, no, this is fine.” he tells him and they both take a seat. “Now, this might sound a bit strange, but I was wondering if I might ask a favor of you?” 

“If it’s within my ability, sure.” Gendry replies a little taken back, but he hides it well. 

“Well, a friend of mine from University owns a manor on the other side of town, The Tudor Rose. No one has lived there since his wife was killed nearly two decades ago.”

“Yeah, I remember that case. The husband went out of town with the two daughters, came home to find her dead in their bed.”

“Have you looked into it? Arya mentioned you have a special talent for solving cold cases.” 

Gendry huffs embarrassed. “I wouldn’t say that, but I do look into them whenever I can. I haven’t been able to look into this one though. Robbery Homicide kept it fairly close to the vest because of the high profile nature.” 

Stannis nods slowly. “Well, as I’m sure you’re aware then, quite a few urban legends and ghost stories have come from the incident, tainting the house.” he pauses. “My friend, Jackson Dupree, has been attempting to sell the house for over a year now. His daughters are going off to college soon and they’ve all decided it’s just not worth holding onto anymore. They want to be done with it and move on with their lives. It took some time to find a serious buyer, but there’s a couple who want to buy the house and restore it. Unfortunately words got around in the paranormal community and they’ve been hounded day and night by bloggers and investigators.” Stannis took a moment to collect his thoughts. “In a desperate bid to dispel the attention on the house, my friend and the buyers have hired a group of paranormal investigators.”

Gendry scoffs before he can stop himself. 

“How can a man in a serious relationship with a Stark not believe?” Stannis asks incredulously. 

“Oh I believe, I just don’t have much respect for Ghost Hunters. Never have and doubly so since meeting Arya.” Gendry explains and Stannis looks rather pleased by the admission. 

“Well, both Jackson and the new buyers are skeptical of the team themselves, but they’ve convinced themselves that if they allow them to do this they will make fools of themselves and dispel any legends and stories that go along with the house and therefore free it from public scrutiny.”

“That’s…” Gendry hesitates. He doesn’t know Stannis well, only from the few brief times he’s met him at the clinic, but a man like Stannis with all his education and opportunities has to know that something like that will only push hardcore fanatics even further. 

“I know.” Stannis interrupts. “That’s not going to stop anyone truly obsessed with this, but they’re determined to try.” he sighs. “Now, for the favor. I’ve convinced Jackson, though admittedly it wasn’t that difficult, to allow someone in to supervise the team and I was hoping you might do it.”

“Why me?” Gendry asks. 

“Because Arya trusts you and that has quite a bit of weight in my opinion. Plus, your propensity for cold cases. I just want to make sure that Melenie’s character is protected. These people, I have no doubt, would do anything to sell their show. She’s suffered enough, we all just want to be sure that she rests in peace.” he explains. “And, well, I suppose I was hoping you might take a look at the case again. Perhaps you can find something the original investigators missed.” 

“I could do that I suppose.” Gendry replies. “I’ll see if Robbery Homicide is ready to relinquish hold of the file yet.” he huffed a laugh. “Maybe I can even get Arya to tag along.” 

Stannis laughs. “Good luck with that. She hates ghost hunters and will absolutely hate these people. I’ve met them, they’re all assholes of the highest degree. If you do convince her you’ll have to split your time between watching them and making sure she doesn’t kill any of them.” 

“You’re really selling the idea.” 

Stannis chuckles. “Look, my biggest concern is the case. If Jackson wants to take risks with ghost hunters that’s his business, but Melenie was a friend as well, and my daughters godmother, she deserves respect and decency which is more than she’s gotten in the ensuing years. Rumors of affairs and slander against her character just because she was home alone that night, its ludacris. Not to mention all the scrutiny Jackson got from the public, never mind that he was one hundred miles away when it happened and the police cleared him almost immediately.” Stannis sighs. “My only concern is that family. I don’t want these hacks doing anything to hurt them anymore then they’ve already suffered.”

“I understand. I’ll do what I can to help.” 

“Thank you.” Stannis says as he stands. They shake hands and he turns to walk away. When he’s out of sight, Jon walks over, eyes tracking the direction Stannis disappeared. 

“Was that Stannis?” Jon asks. Gendry nods. “What did he want?”

Gendry sighs, collapsing back in his seat. Things with Jon have markedly improved since the incident with the Faceless Men and he’s not sure what to make of it. Considering his intention to spend the rest of his life with Arya, he supposes he should just be grateful and move on. 

“You know the Dupree murder over at Tudor Rose Manor?” Gendry asks. Jon grimaces. “Yeah, I was just out of the academy when that happened. Uncle Ned said they were friends of Stannis’.”

“Same, and they are. Apparently her husband and daughters have decided enough is enough and are trying to sell the house. They want to be done with everything but the buyers got hounded by conspiracy theorists and ghost bloggers as soon as it was made public that they planned to buy it.” 

“Vultures all of them. I remember hearing about the trouble they caused the family a few years back, something about the lights going on at the same time every year?” he sounds unsure and Gendry hasn’t heard the rumor himself, but makes a mental note to look into it. 

“Yeah well, the owner and the buyers think getting a ghost hunting team in there will get people to calm down. Something about being sure they won’t find anything and the urban legends fading with it.”

Jon looks skeptical. “That’s not how that works.”

“You know that and I know that and Stannis knows that, but the owner is desperate and willing to try anything.” 

“So what does that have to do with you? He hear about your uncanny cold case skills?” Jon chuckles when Gendry rolls his eyes. 

“He asked me to go with them into the house, make sure they don’t stage anything or tarnish the wife’s name.” he explains. “And also maybe to look into the case again.” 

“Good luck with that, Robbery Homicide hasn’t let that case go in fifteen years.” 

Gendry hums in reply. After a moment he asks; “What do you think the chances of me convincing Arya to tag along are?” 

Jon laughs. “Honestly, if it were anyone else I’d say zero percent, but since it’s you, I’d give you pretty good odds. Especially if she knows you’ll be looking into the case while you’re there.” Jon pauses. “Did she tell you what happened in college?” 

“You mean with the campus team?” Jon nods. “Vaguely, this was back when we first started spending time together though. It hasn’t really come up since. All I know for sure is some ghost hunter overheard her and Lommy talking and then started looking into the Stark’s. Tried to get her to join the team when he realized what she could do. Then something about him being persistent.”

“Persistent is a word for it. He  _ stalked  _ her. Campus couldn’t do anything about it because he wasn’t really breaking any rules, but eventually he crossed the line, broke into her dorm and got expelled.” 

Gendry sighs, trying to keep the sudden well of rage bottled up. “With everything she’s been through, is it any wonder she wants nothing to do with her gift?”

Jon agrees silently, then after a moment; “Well, good luck, whatever happens. Let me know if you need anything.” 

“I will, thanks.” 

With that, Jon turns and walks back to his own desk across the bullpen. 

xXx

Gendry steps into the house and the smell immediately hits him. Wafting from the kitchen he follows his nose to the back of the house where his ears pick up the sounds of music, somewhat tinny over phone speakers compared to the Bluetooth speaker he got for Arya for Yule the year before. 

Gendry stops in the doorway, watching in amusement as Arya flits from one end of the kitchen to the other, dancing to the music and singing to herself. She shakes her ass and a sudden feeling of possessiveness comes over him, an urge to cross the room and pin her to the counter. He’s been having those a lot lately and the therapist the department made him go to seems to think it’s just a side effect of the uncertainty of not knowing where she was or if she was okay for two weeks. He’s willing to believe that even if there’s a small part of him that thinks it’s something else entirely.

He pushes the feeling aside as she does a little twirl, spotting him in the doorway. She dances toward him, grinning as he rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t fight her when she takes his hands and pulls him onto her makeshift dance floor. He twirls her around, not really moving much, letting Arya take the lead and use him as she will. When the song ends she reaches over and turns the music off before twirling into his arms and throwing them around his shoulders. She has to stand on her tiptoes to reach him properly, so he helps her out, lifting her up against him to make stealing a kiss easier. 

“How was your day off?” he asks, holding her a little longer than necessary. 

“Good, how was work?” she replies as the kitchen timer goes off. 

“Interesting.” he says in a way that gets her attention. She moves to pull dinner out of the oven and he helps her bring everything over to the table in the breakfast nook. 

“Interesting how?” she asks as they settle down. 

“Stannis came to see me today?”

“Stannis? What did he want?” 

“To ask a favor.” Gendry explains, taking a sip of his wine. “You know the Tudor Rose Manor?” he asks. She nods. “Well, his friend is trying to sell it, but they’re having trouble with urban legend kooks and the like.” 

“So he wants you to solve the case and put it all to rest?” she asks. 

“Partially. His friend has a buyer who ended up getting harassed by said kooks, so long story short they all think hiring a ghost hunting team to walk through the place will put all the legends and myths to bed.” 

He watches as Arya’s face shifts. She doesn’t look angry, but there’s something in her expression that Gendry might almost call resignation. “Do they actually think that’ll work?” 

“I don’t think so, but Stannis asked me to go in with them and keep an eye on them. Make sure they don’t do anything that will tarnish Melenie Dupree’s good name, or make things worse.” 

Arya snorts. “They’re ghost hunters, they exist solely to make everything worse. Going into places and demanding the spirits perform so they can make a quick buck.” she rolls her eyes. “When do they go in?” 

“Tomorrow night,” he explains. “I know you have a bad history with ghost hunters, but I was kind of hoping you might come along. You don’t have to, but case wise if Melenie is still there she could give us a lead.” 

“Yeah, I could do that.” She agrees far more easily than he expected. 

“Really, that easy?” he asks. She nods. Then he looks a bit suspicious. “Why?” 

Arya stares across the table at him for a moment. “I’ve… I’ve felt myself being drawn to that house for years.” she tells him. “Since University when I first passed it on my way home from class.” he doesn’t say anything, letting her continue in her own time. “I can’t really explain it, but there is something about that house that… well it’s not wrong, but it’s not right either.” 

“If it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to go.” 

“No, I do. I want to go. I’ve wanted to go for a long time, but I could never make myself.” 

“And you don’t have to make yourself now.” 

“I know, but I want to.” 

Gendry isn’t thrilled with the admission, but he let’s it go. Or at least he intends to until she calls him out on the face he didn’t realize he was making. “What’s wrong?” she asks. 

He shakes his head. He could lie, but he knows better and quite frankly, he doesn’t want to lie. “I guess with everything that’s happened in the last few weeks I’m just a little on edge when it comes to things like this.” she nods, seeming to understand what he’s trying to say. “I just… I’m not sure I want to know what Jaqen meant, but I have a feeling we’re getting closer and closer to finding out.” 

“I know what you mean. It’s like I see hidden meaning in every little thing that happens. I’m second guessing everything.” she takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “But I know if you’re there, everything's going to be just fine.” 

Gendry smiles. “I’ll do my damnedest.” she smiles back and they finish dinner in companionable silence. 

When they’re done, Arya starts taking the dishes to the sink. Gendry waits a moment before getting up to join her, watching the sway of her hips as she walks across the room. That possessive urge has returned and that little voice in his head that’s been fighting to keep him from acting on it isn’t quite as loud as it usually is. 

He manages to help her do the dishes first, but when they’re done and her back is to him as she wipes the counter down, he moves into her, boxing her in against the cabinet. She chuckles as he buries his face into the crook of her neck, nipping lightly before pulling back enough to trail his lips against the shell of her ear. 

“Have I ever told you how delicious you look?” he asks, his voice deep and husky. 

“No, I don’t think that’s a word you’ve ever used before.” she laughs, the sound morphing into a moan as he presses his hips forward. 

“Shame on me.” he whispers, sucking the lobe of her ear into his mouth. She sighs at the feeling and reaches back to run her fingers through his hair. He takes hold of her wrist and pulls her arms back to the counter, pinning them against the tile. 

“Gendry.” she gasps as he bites her, his teeth sinking lightly into her shoulder. He loves the sound and he has to resist the urge to bite her harder. “Gods, what’s gotten into you?” she asks. Her eyes are closed, head dropped forward. 

“Want me to stop?” he asks. 

“Never.” she breathes and it’s just the invitation he needs as he scoops her up into his arms and carries her up the stairs. It takes an immense amount of willpower not to drop her on the sofa or the stairs and just have his way with her there. He manages though, to make it to the bedroom, tossing her onto the mattress and immediately crawling over her to pin her in place. 

“Gendry.” she whines as he grinds against her. Their difference in size is never more noticeable than when they’re pressed against each other and he has to bend over significantly to meet her lips as he continues to grind against her. 

Eventually he pulls away and goes to work on her clothing, stripping her bare. She’s the most beautiful woman in the world, hands down and all he thinks about as he stands over her is how much he wants to devour her. It occurs to him as he watches her writhe against the bed, desperate for him to return to her, that there’s nothing stopping him from doing exactly that. 

He crawls up the bed, parting her legs wide to fit his shoulders between them and tossing them over when he gets settled. She stutters and gasps, alternating between moaning and screaming his name as he does exactly as he wanted. She’s a shuddering shaking mess when he finally pulls away and the swell of pride in his chest is almost animalistic. He realizes the rumbling in his chest is an actual growl and he looks up at Arya waiting for the laughter to start, but it never comes. Instead she looks down at him, pupils blown wide, mouth open as she pants, trying to catch her breath. 

They stare at each other for a moment and then Gendry is moving, climbing over her and settling himself between her legs. He presses forward, sliding into her and watching enraptured as she throws her head back in what can only be described as ecstasy. 

“Gods yes.” she moans and he takes that as his queue to move, pulling free and thrusting back in until he’s moving at an almost impossible speed. “Yes!” she screams heavenward as she cums, body wrung taut, shaking. 

He follows her over the edge and collapses to the side, trying not to crush her. They take a moment to catch their breath before Arya rolls into his side, wrapping herself around him. She drops off to sleep almost immediately, but Gendry finds himself lying awake, the dark of night all around him. As he finally begins to drop off to sleep sometime later, he hears a voice, his but not his, whisper;

“ _ Mine _ .”


	2. The Tudor Rose

Haunter Manor

Chapter 2: The Tudor Rose 

xXx

Jennifer looks up from her newspaper as the front door slams open, startling the agent whose turn it is to watch her. She grins as the bodies stream in, overwhelming the lone agent. He’s out cold in a moment, bound and shuffled outside, out of the way. She stands as Jaqen enters the room and they embrace.

“I’ve missed you brother.” she says as he pulls her into him. 

“I’ve missed you as well, sister.” he replies. 

Arya watches on from her place in the doorway, the cold fingers of dread gripping her heart as she sees, for the first time in years, the woman who tried to kill her. She’s worked so hard to push it aside, never talk about it, never even hint that it still gave her nightmares, but standing here in the same room with her, all of that goes out the window. 

Jennifer looks over Jaqen’s shoulder, eyes landing directly on Arya and there’s something there something she’s not sure about. Jaqen had already told her that Jennifer was corrupted, but then again he’d later admitted they all were, but something about the way Jennifer looks at her… she can’t put her finger on it, but she has every reason to think something bad is going to happen. It’s a nagging feeling that hits her suddenly. 

“You brought her.” Jennifer says, pulling away. She doesn’t think Jaqen picks up on how pleased she sounds, and if he does, he may think it has more to do with the fact that he hasn’t explained what he’s learned yet. 

“Yes, she needs to be here for this,” he replies. Jennifer seems to be more aware and looks to Jaqen confused. “There are things that you need to know, things I’ve discovered.” he tells her. 

Arya watches the tensing of her body, the way her eyes harden ever so slightly.  _ She knows _ ; the fleeting thought passing through her mind and out again before she can stop it. She fights the sudden urge to flee, knowing she’s surrounded and wouldn’t get far. 

“Sit down,”Jaqen begins. He then turns to the room. “All of you.” they do as they’re told, though Jennifer a bit more hesitantly than the others. She reclaims her spot on the sofa, eyes remaining firmly planted on Jaqen. Does he see it? The hatred in her eyes. Arya doesn’t think so. Jaqen seems so used to being obeyed, she wonders if he’s ever had to worry about dissonance before, could he even spot it? 

Arya remains standing, trying to disappear into the wall near the door. She feels the binding of the book in her hand cut into her palm as she squeezes it reflexively. Her legs feel like lead weights, the weight of fear keeping her rooted to her spot even with Jaqen making it so much easier for her to flee.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you what I have discovered.” Jaqen begins and no one dares to interrupt. What follows it is a monologue of guilt and regret. He spins the tale of his grandfather’s creation of the Faceless Men, of the Faceless God coming to him in the corn field. He tells them of his family’s proud history in defending the innocent. And then he tells them all about his own father’s discovery, how he intended to right the wrongs they had done in ignorance of the truth. He tells them about the journal and the pain of his choice and how they have been deceived for decades. 

The room remains quiet as he speaks, eyes filling with tears, but no one reacts, no one speaks out. And all the while, Jennifer sits, calm and still, eyes focused only on Jaqen for much of his story. She doesn’t react, no tears, no horror filled gaze, not like the others. And then, slowly, as Jaqen begins explaining who the Faceless God really is, Jennifer looks to Arya with a knowing gaze. It sends a chill unlike any other down her spine and that fleeting thought flutters through again. 

_ She knows. She knows. She knows.  _

A smile tilts her lips, her brown eyes growing darker and darker until there’s nothing left, not even the white of her sclera. It’s so cliche but it’s effective. Terror grips Arya’s chest, knocking the breath from her lungs. She feels her body begin to shake, a sense of nausea over taking her. She turns to flee but quickly realizes she’s not moving. She can’t move. 

“June?” Jaqen’s voice cuts through the white noise that’s drowned everything else out. Arya tears her gaze away, looking to see the horror etched across his face. 

“Congratulations brother, you figured it out faster than I thought you would. Honestly, I had doubts you ever would. You’re not as smart as you think you are after all.” Jennifer says, standing from her place. She smirks, looking around the room and no one moves. “Here’s what my darling brother hasn’t told you.” she continues. “In order to stop the Corrupted King’s plan, you all have to die. Your sins cannot be forgiven, no matter how ignorant you were of the truth. So, to prevent more death, to prevent the king from continuing to populate his well of earthbound spirits, you must be cleansed and sacrificed. It’s an ancient ritual, going back even farther than that girl’s holy bloodline.” she points to Arya, but none of them look at her, all seemingly trapped in Jennifer’s gaze. “You don’t have to die though. You can live and serve the king as you always have.” 

Jaqen reacts, lunging toward his sister and knocking her back on the sofa. The others move, suddenly free of the unseen force. “Never.” Jaqen replies coldly. He turns to his people and they all silently agree. This only amuses her, and she laughs, cold and high. 

“If you won’t serve him in life, you will serve him in death.” she says. 

“No, we will be purified and free.” Jaqen replies forcefully. 

Jennifer grins. “You don’t have time brother.” 

Arya hears a voice. She’s not sure whose voice it is. It could be Jaqen it could be something else, someone else, telling her to run, and suddenly the weight holding her in place is gone and she’s got just enough awareness to see the smile drop off Jennifer’s face as she turns and runs for the front door. She hears the echoing scream, the long drawn out “no” like some cheesy action movie as she bursts through the front door, vaguely aware of the people gathered outside. 

“Run!” she screams, dashing madly for the familiar blue eyes as he runs for her. 

The heat of the explosion is intense and for a moment she thinks this is it. But the force of the ground coming up to meet her is enough to knock sense into her and she gasps for breath as debris and fire rains down around her. Her ears are ringing, her head spinning. If she were in her right mind she may be able to diagnose herself, but she’s not and merely lays there, praying for it to be over. 

She feels her body move and prys her eyes open, those familiar blue eyes staring down at her, filled with tears. The image of him begins to blur as tears fill her eyes. “You’re okay.” she sobs as he holds her close. 

What distinguishes reality from nightmare is what happens next. In reality, ambulances arrive and Gendry bundles her up into one, never leaving her side as they go from scene to hospital to home again. He’s there, in the background as her family arrives to see her and he’s there at night as she shakes and cries from the terror that keeps overwhelming her every time she thinks about what would have happened if things had gone just a little differently. If Gendry had gotten there sooner and made entry, if she hadn’t turned and run when she did.

In her nightmares she’s alone. There are no people when she regains her berings. The cars and what’s left of the house are there, but there are no people. Gendry doesn’t appear, so happy to see her, and the other officers aren’t getting up, dusting themselves off and taking stock of their injuries. She’s completely alone.

Until she’s not. 

The first shadow is small and at first she mistakes it for something else. The second joins and then another and another and another until she’s surrounded. They close in on her, the silence deafening as their forms absorb all light and sound. She tries to scream but there’s nothing and no one around to hear even if the sound could escape. 

“You only delay the inevitable.” the voice is indescribable, other worldly. It echoes through her skull, bouncing around her head. She cups her hands over her ears as though it will block it out, but it merely laughs at her. The shadows converge and she’s swallowed by the darkness only to wake kicking and screaming as Gendry tries to calm her. 

He’s not here to calm her this time. He’s at work and she’s home alone and what was supposed to be a movie on the couch turned into a nap and a wake from terror she wonders if she’ll ever escape. 

The house isn’t silent, the movie still playing on the television and she’s eternally grateful for it. It takes awhile for her to calm herself enough to be aware of most things, but when she does, she realizes it’s almost time for Gendry to come home, so she gets up, turns the movie off and makes her way into the kitchen to start dinner. 

The knocking sounds comes just as she’s putting everything on to cook. She goes to the front door but there’s no one there. She’s on edge, but convinces herself it’s just a prank or maybe even the house settling. 

She returns to the kitchen and is just debating whether or not to make desert when the knocking sounds again. This time however, the sound is less ambiguous. Where she assumed before it came from the front door, now she knows for certain it’s coming from below her. It’s knocking on the floor.

Her attention shifts to the basement door where it sits to the right of the kitchen entrance, a cold chill surrounding her. The knocking sounds again, softer this time. She finds herself rooted to her spot, considering her options. She could turn everything off in the kitchen and go sit outside until Gendry gets home, but if it’s just pipes or the house settling he’ll start to worry about her, start questioning if she’s handling her trauma well enough. She could, of course, go down and see for herself what it is, but the thought of spending even a moment in the dark depth of her basement is overwhelmingly painful. She has a fleeting thought about the basement, like a memory, but it’s gone before she can grasp it. 

Arya takes a deep breath and turns away from the door, pulling her phone off the counter and turning on her music. It’s not long before she’s dancing along, enjoying the beat and forgetting entirely the fear that gripped her. When Gendry gets home, she pulls him into a dance and like a good sport he goes along with it, laughing as her moves get increasingly more ridiculous. 

They’re conversation over dinner gives her something new to think about. About old memories with Lommy and the house on the way back to the KLU dorms. 

As she washes dishes after dinner, she’s lost in thought. Gendry bringing up the Tudor Rose can’t be a coincidence. Nothing seems to be a coincidence anymore, not since, well, everything. She wants to stay home, to convince Gendry not to go, but she knows deep down if she doesn’t go to this house tomorrow night she’ll just be making things worse for herself. How, she doesn’t know, but the truth of it is there. 

The truth is, she hadn’t been totally honest with Gendry when he brought up the house, at least she’d left a few things out. Like the reason she was so drawn to the house. 

Before she can think of it further, Gendry’s boxing her in against the counter, burying his face in her neck. There’s a second where that cold chill from early has returned, but it’s gone so quickly she doubts whether she felt it at all. 

She wonders, not for the first time, what’s gotten into Gendry. He’s been all over her for days now, not that she minds. Before it was more equal, she initiated as much as he did, but now it seems like it takes very little to get him going. Again, she’s not complaining, not if he keeps fucking her so thoroughly. 

She’s too exhausted to think anymore when they’re done, so she simply rolls over and drifts off to sleep against him, unaware of whatever turmoil he may be feeling as well. 

Arya awakes the next morning to an intense pleasure radiating from the Gendry shaped lump under the sheet. She must have been more tired than she thought to have missed him moving around and slipping between her legs. It's not the worst way to wake up, she’ll admit, as the shock wave rolls through her. “Aren’t you going to be late for work?” she asks as he kisses his way up her body. 

“I took the rest of the week off.” he mutters against her skin. 

“Yay me.” she whimpers as he wraps his lips around a nipple. 

It doesn’t feel like that much time has passed and yet hours have gone by since she awoke with Gendry’s head between her thighs. He takes her on the bed, in the shower, on the sink in the bathroom and again on the bed. He’d have had his way with her in the kitchen too if it weren’t for the phone call from Davos stopping him short. 

They spend the rest of the day dozing in and out on the sofa while they watch daytime television, getting up to get ready to go around seven. They’re very nearly late when Gendry nearly jumps her in the closet while she’s pulling clothes from the dresser drawers. 

“Seriously,” she admonitious lightly as he pulls up to the house. “What’s gotten into you lately.” 

“I don’t know.” he sighs, grinning. “I just can’t get enough of you lately.” 

She laughs. “Well, behave yourself while we’re in there.” 

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. I think I finally worked it out.” 

She rolls her eyes, turning to climb out of the car. Gendry follows after pulling the casefile he managed to get from Robbery Homicide out of the backseat and together they walk toward Stannis, standing off to the left of a group of young adults, more than likely in their twenties, and an older man Arya recognizes from various functions throughout the years. The older man is discussing something, heatedly with one of the younger people and Stannis, well, he looks about how he usually does, annoyed. 

As they approach, something odd strikes Arya and it’s not until they’re standing beside Stannis that she realizes what it is. “The lights are off.” she mutters to herself, but they hear her just fine. 

Stannis looks surprised to see her. “I honestly didn’t expect you.” he tells her. She shrugs, offering no further response. 

“What’s going on?” she asks, gesturing the argument. 

“They aren’t happy with the idea of being supervised.” Stannis explains. 

Gendry snorts. “Yeah, that’s not suspicious at all.” Stannis agrees. 

One of the team members notices them then, and Stannis takes that as a queue to introduce Arya and Gendry to his friend. The team watches them as they make their introductions. 

“Jackson, this is Detective Sergeant Gendry Waters.” he begins and they shake hands. “And I don’t know if you remember Ned’s little Girl, Arya Stark.” 

“Of course, thank you for doing this.” he tells them. “And for looking into the case again. I know there probably isn’t much to find, but I won’t lie, I'm a bit hopeful.”

“Well, I can’t make any promises, but I promise we will do our best.” Gendry replies. Jackson looks harried but hopeful and turns to the group to see if they're ready. They’re all watching them. 

“Right, well, since you’ll be locked in together for a few hours I suppose I should introduce you.” Jackson continues. “This is Mike Hollander, he’s the leader of this group.” they shake hands and Mike remains pleasant though it’s clear he doesn’t want them there. “Flora Delmar, lead interviewer.” she reaches out to shake their hands. Of all of them, she seems the least put out by their presence. 

“Any relations to Josiah Delmar?” Gendry asks. She smiles brightly.

“Yes, he’s my uncle. Favorite uncle technically, but don’t tell him that it’ll just go to his head.” she laughs. 

Arya smiles. “He’s a good man.” Flora grins agreeing wholeheartedly. 

The rest of the team, Jenny Clairmont, the lead cameraman, Daniel Peters, second camera man, Abigail Darby, sound tech and Ashton Florez, control operator, weren’t so happy to see them, but they’re polite. When introductions are over, Mike insists they get started and Jackson leads the way into the house. 

Arya isn’t entirely sure why they named the house The Tudor Rose. Tt’s not a Tudor style mansion at all, in fact, it looks closer to the great stone castles that used to overrun this area of King’s Landing in the Middle Ages. At least on the outside. On the inside it looks like a modern palace, with grand marble floors, intricate chandeliers and elegant wallpaper that looks to be made entirely of gold filigree. 

The team spreads out through the first floor, already having their assignments to set up. Jackson remains in the foyer with Mike, leaving Arya and Gendry to speak quietly with Stannis. 

“Do you see anything?” he asks Arya. She looks around, as she had when she entered. 

“No, there’s no one here.” 

Then as if it had just occurred to him what she had said when they arrived, Gendry asks; “What do you mean the lights are off?” the lights had in fact been off when they arrived but Jackson promptly switched them on as they entered. 

Arya looks up at them, hesitating for only a moment. “I wasn’t entirely honest with you last night.” she explains. “It’s a little strange, but basically, the first time I saw the house back in uni, I commented to Lommy about how weird it was that they kept the lights on even when no one lived there anymore. Lommy looked confused and eventually admitted that the lights weren’t on, they were off, the house was totally dark, but I could clearly see all the windows illuminated. Whenever I walk or drive by, for years now, the lights have been on. Without fail. Tonight the house was dark.” 

Stannis is quiet for a moment. “Perhaps that means whatever, or whoever is here, knows what’s going on and intends to remain hidden.” 

“It’s possible. Most spirits want to be left alone. That’s why so much evidence seems so sketchy. They aren’t trying to leave it, it just happens because of the energy they give off.”

Arya, Stannis and Gendry are so caught up in their conversation they fail to notice the team returning and Jenny, who walked over to grab something out of the box left nearby, stands up straight looking a bit too excited. “How do you know all of that? Are you a psychic?” she asks, drawing everyone’s attention. 

“No.” Gendry and Arya reply simultaneously and the smile drops off her face, replaced by a sneer. 

“Then how do you know all of that?” she repeats. 

Stannis stands up straight and replies in a voice Shireen has dubbed his CEO voice; “Mind your own business. You’re here to do a job, do it and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing.” 

Mike, sensing a potential problem, steps in. “Speaking of which, we need you both to sign a waiver to be on camera.”

“No.” Gendry replies. “We’re not here to be on your show. We’ll stay out of view of the camera.” 

“That won’t work, we’ve set up stationary cameras in all the rooms.” Daniel replies. 

“Then you’ll blur their faces.” Stannis speaks up. “As Detective Waters said, they aren’t here to be a part of your show, they’re here to ensure you are all on your best behavior. If you don’t like it, you may leave.” 

Mike looks to Jackson who doesn’t argue and huffs. “Fine, just stay out of the way.” 

And with that the subject is dropped. When the team is finished setting up, Arya and Gendry walk with Stannis and Jackson to the door, assuring them that they’ve got everything handled. 

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Abigail speaks up as Arya and Gendry return to the group. “You need to turn off your cellphones, it interferes with the equipment.” Neither of them argue as they do just that and when it's all said and done the group gets to work filming. 

Flora and Mike stand before the camera with Jenny on one side and Daniel on the other. Abigail stands halfway between them, a boom mic held over her head and Ashton has his back to the camera, sitting at the fold up table behind Flora and Mike. 

“Good evening and welcome to a very special episode of Beyond Strange, as always we’re your hosts Mike Hollander and Flora Delmar, along with Camera operators Jenny Clairmont and Daniel Peters. Like always, sound is brought to you by Abigail Darby and keeping an eye on everything at mission control is Ashton Florez. Tonight finds us in a never before investigated location.” Mike stops and Flora picks up. 

“That’s right folks, for the first time ever, we here at Beyond Strange have been given exclusive access to the Tudor Rose Manor on the upper east side of King’s Landing. Built in 1887, it was originally a religious mission setup in the name of the Seven. In 1931, it was sold for a profit to a wealthy land developer who converted it into a spacious six bedroom manor complete with a ballroom, a lounge and even a classic billiard room. This place looks like the Cluedo board.” Flora jokes. 

“An apt description. In 1987, Jackson Dupree bought this house as a wedding present for his then fiance Melenie Dupree. She had fallen in love with the house as a child when a family friend had owned it and Jackson didn’t hesitate to buy it for her when it went on the market, paying top dollar at the time for it. It was here that they lived for ten years, have two children, twin daughters. Sources around the family say they had a happy life, rather average life. Unfortunately on the morning of September 2, 1999, Jackson took their daughters out of town to visit their grandparents in the Vale, leaving Melenie alone in the house, a fact that he would later come to regret.”

Flora picks up the narrative again. “Two days later, Jackson would return home to find his wife of ten years dead in the master bedroom. Bludgeoned to death with a candlestick from the dining room. Now of course police ruled Jackson out immediately, but nearly two decades later, Melenie Dupree’s killer has remained at large leaving the family to wonder if they will ever have justice for they’re lost loved one.” she stops. 

“Tonight,” Mike continues. “We hope to dispel the rumors and urban legends that have made this tragedy so much more difficult for the family to endure, by taking you on an indepth look into the case as we know it, as well as attempting to contact the spirit of Melenie Dupree. Now, we cannot stress this enough to our loyal fans and new viewers, the utmost respect and care went into this investigation, because at the very core of all of this is a family still in mourning. We ask that everyone remain respectful of the family and the property and to think about how you would like your family treated in the event of your own untimely demise.”

“We at Beyond Strange, and at Travel Channel, do not condone in any way shape or form trespassing on this property or harassment of the family and any buyers for the property. We encourage everyone out there to remember that your need to satiate your curiosity does not outweigh the needs of the family.” Flora continues. 

“So, without further ado, it’s time to look,” Mike says and then together he and Flora say; “Beyond Strange.” 

Mike takes a deep breath. “Alright cut. That was great, first take and everything. I think we should just use that and if we get to post and it’s not what we want we can film on a soundstage, set it up like a disclaimer.” 

“Sounds good.” Flora agrees. “I think we should do a history of the house as we walk through, give people as much detail as we can.” she continues. 

“I like it, do you want to do that?” Mike asks. 

“Solo?” she asks, sounding excited. 

Mike nods. “Yeah, you got us in here, I think you deserve the screen time.” 

Flora grins. “Awesome, do you need my help setting up or can I go over my notes.” 

“Do your notes, we got this.” Daniel calls out across the room, where he’s fiddling with a stationary camera. The other’s agree and Flora makes her way over to her bag sitting on the floor near Arya and Gendry. 

“So how did you get your team in here?” Arya asks, her voice low so only Gendry and Flora can hear her.

“Well, the team originally wanted to get in here to do a show like any other, try to prove the existence of ghosts, but I knew from talking to my uncle about it that that wouldn’t work and honestly, it's really disrespectful given that all of this happened in our lifetime. So, I convinced them that we should propose an episode to debunk internet gossip that’s popped up over the years. It will give us a level of respectability that other hunting teams don’t have and we could potentially help the family in some way.” Flora looks a little ashamed for a moment. “Plus, well, my degree is in journalism and I’ve always wanted to write true crime. This is all just a foot in the door kind of thing. I started writing the book for this crime and, I know it’s selfish, but I was kind of hoping if we did a good job here, Mr. Dupree wouldn’t mind if I wrote a book on the case.” 

Arya looks back at Gendry who shrugs. “Well, maybe if you guys do a good job here we can put in a good word for you.” she tells her. Flora’s face lights up. 

“Really? But you barely know me.”

Arya shrugs. “Let’s just say I have a distinct respect for people who respect the dead.” 

Realization crosses Flora’s face. “Oh, right, because…” she trails off, looking around the room to make sure the others don’t hear her. “Your gift.” 

“Your uncle told you about that?” Gendry asks. 

Flora nods. “We were talking about me taking the job with the team and I mentioned I was still on the fence about it. The way I see it, if the most skeptical man I’ve ever met believes, it must be true.” she hesitates. “Do you really not see anything?” she asks. 

Arya shakes her head. “It’s been radio silent since we got here.” 

Flora sighs. “Well, that’s no big deal I guess. That’s not what the show is about. Maybe we’ll scrape a chair across the floor upstairs, give the audience one scare and be done with it.” she rolls her eyes as if the idea alone is ridiculous. 

After that Flora goes to work on her notes and a little while later they’re all gathered in the ballroom to film. 

“Ready?” Mike asks, standing over Jenny’s shoulder. Flora nods. “We’re rolling, when you're ready.” 

“Like with all investigations, research is vital to telling the story of any location. As you know, the Tudor Rose began as a Mission, but it didn’t last long, only about thirty years or so. The order of priests who built it were trying to fuse old and new traditions in order to balance the conflicts that had ravaged Westeros for centuries before. However, their new order fell on deaf ears and they disbanded in the early nineteen hundreds. Several years after that Walter Brickow bought the mission with the intention of turning it into a manor and selling it for a profit. Some local historians credit Brickow as being the first real estate flipper in history.” she pauses. 

“After the construction was complete, five years and two millions dollars later, the house was sold to Alester Rubini, a fellow real estate mogul, who like Jackson Dupree wanted to surprise his new bride with an opulent house to build their family in. They held onto the house for thirty years having seven children and dozens of grandchildren.” she pauses again. 

“Interestingly enough, despite the size and opulence of the manor, there’s only one other police report tied to this property. In 1967, Alestor and his wife returned to the house with their youngest children after a night at the opera to find the back door kicked in and several high priced items stolen. Police were suspicious from the beginning, but there were no leads and none of the items turned up in pawnshops anywhere in the city, so the case quickly went cold. Everything was insured so despite the violation, the family wasn’t too concerned. Alestor’s wife, Jane, even mentioned in the report that the items stolen were only monetarily valuable, not sentimental. This of course made police suspicious and several notes in the report indicate that police wanted to speak with the Rabini’s older children, but Alester and Jane closed ranks to protect their family and the case was put away when no new leads surfaced…” Flora continues to speak on the history following the event, including the sale of the house to family friend Jackson Dupree. She stops after that insisting she wants to check her notes again before going into the case itself. 

Gendry finds her while she’s flipping through her files. “Do you have a copy of that old Police report?” he asks her. Both she and Mike look up from the table where they’re organizing notes. 

“Yeah.” 

“Can I borrow it?” 

“Sure, I don’t think I’ll need it for the rest of the shoot but if I do I’ll know where it is.” she tells him, pulling out the file and handing it over. He thanks her and walks away, flipping through the file as he does so. Arya watches as he settles out of the way, before walking over to join Flora and Mike. 

“What was that about?” Mike asks. Flora laughs.

“Looks like that detective mind my uncle is always talking about.” 

Arya snorts. “He does not call it that.” 

“He does. He claims Gendry was born to be a detective, in any capacity.” 

Arya smiles. “Well, I can’t argue with that.” 

Flora smiles then turns back to her work. “Actually.” She speaks up a moment later. “Can we get your opinion on something?” she asks.

“What do we need her opinion on?” Mike asks. He doesn’t sound skeptical, just confused. 

“The information that’s been released on the case is limited, including the coroner's report which is heavily redacted.” Flora explains. “As a trauma surgeon, I was hoping you might see something I missed.” Arya takes the papers she holds out to her. She’s right, they are heavily redacted. Most of the coroner's notes have been blacked out as well as his predicted cause of death. About the only thing that isn’t blacked out are weight, height and age and the determination that this was a homicide. She reads over what’s visible several times before it all seems to make sense. 

“Blunt force trauma.” she says, more to herself. 

“Right, they think it was a candlestick from the dining room, one was missing from the set.” Mike replies. 

“Right,” Arya mutters. “But the blood…” she trails off. 

“What about it?” Flora asks. 

“Head wounds bleed profusely because of the large amount of blood vessels there, but there was hardly any blood on her pillow where they found her. Additionally, according to the diagram, she was hit on the back of the head, and yet they found her on her back.” 

“She could have rolled over.” Mike suggests. 

Arya shrugs. “Maybe, or she was placed there.” 

“You mean she was killed somewhere else, then moved to the bedroom?” Flora asks. “Why?” 

“Remorse.” Gendry says, drawing their attention as he joins them at the table. “She knew her killer.” 

Arya huffs. “Let me guess, you figured it all out.” 

Gendry shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not. Won’t know until I can have an uninterrupted look around.” 

“Detective mind.” Flora says sing songedly, earning a laugh from Arya and a confused look from Gendry. 

Throughout the evening nothing happens. Arya sees and hears nothing and the equipment doesn’t seem to pick up anything either, though the team insists they won’t know for sure until they get everything into post. Most of the team seems frustrated by this, but they keep going and several hours later start the process of packing up. Gendry turns his phone on as they head for the door, realizing rather quickly that he has no cell service. 

“Damn, I promised Stannis I would call when they were done.” he tells her. “I’m going to step out and try to get a signal. You staying here?” he asks. She nods. 

“Yeah, I want to walk around down here a bit, unless you think that’ll hurt your case?” 

Gendry shakes his head. “No, that should be alright.” he tells her, leaning over to steal a kiss. “I’ll be right back.” he tells her, turning on his heels and walking out the door. 

“Well, now that they’re gone we can finally get down to business.” Arya hears the familiar voice behind her and she turns startled. 

“Terry?” she questions as the front door slams shut behind her. 


	3. To The Edge and Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's probably going to be a little delay on the next story. I'm going on vacation next weekend so I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have to write, no matter how much we avoid people.

Haunted Manor

Chapter 3: To The Edge and Back

xXx

Gendry steps out onto the landing, phone in hand. He looks up from the screen long enough to watch the team begin to load their equipment into their van, but all thought that precedes it ends as the massive door behind him slams shut as if it weighed nothing. The sound is so loud it startles the team at the end of the driveway. Gendry turns reaching for the handle and trying it desperately. It doesn’t budge and he jams his shoulder against the door, succeeding only in hurting his shoulder. 

“Who is that?” Abigail calls out. Gendry looks back to see her pointing at the window outside the porch canopy and he turns to look just in time to see Terry Rogers closing the curtains. 

“Terry?” he mutters to himself. There’s a moment where his brain tries to process what he’s seen, a long minute, before he returns to the door, attempting to open it again. Like before it doesn’t budge. 

Eventually Gendry steps back, looking up at the house. The lights are brighter than he remembers, shining more with a white glow rather than the tinted yellow. His mind registers that that means something, but the panic of being cut off from Arya once again is overwhelming. Flashes of Jennifer Hagen’s demented grin zip through his mind at rapid pace, overwhelming his senses and making it near impossible to think. 

It’s not until he feels the weight of a hand on his arm that he comes out of it long enough to think clearly. Flora stands at his elbow, eyes a little wide with worry. 

“What’s going on?” she asks. 

“I don’t know.” he manages, his fists clenching and unclenching until he’s forced himself to calm down. It’s then that he remembers the door at the back of the house, the servants entrance near the kitchen. The door is significantly less bulky. He takes off around the side of the house, hearing Flora call out behind him, but he doesn’t stop for her. 

The curtains on the window in the door are still open and on the other side he can see people milling about. All sorts of people of different ages and ethnicities and genders. All of them are dressed in either white or black, but all of them still, are dressed in suits of different styles and eras. 

“Who are all those people? Where did they come from?” Jenny’s voice sounds and he turns to find the team not far behind him. That was a good question, one he wasn’t so sure he could answer despite having a fairly good idea what was going on.

“I don’t know.” he finally answers. 

“Are those…” Mike sounds hesitant at first, but as he continues his tone grows more and more excited. “Are they ghosts?” Before anyone can answer he starts dolling out orders, and his team, too stunned to move, takes a second to jump into action. As they all run back to the front of the house to grab their equipment, Gendry focuses on the door, trying the knob. It sticks a bit and for a moment he worries it’s locked as well, but after a decent shove, it opens with a loud, sticky groan.

The spirits, and that’s what they have to be there’s no other explanation, look to him. Some of them smile, some of them merely stare. “There you are.” his mother’s voice, a voice he hasn’t heard in decades but would recognize anywhere, draws his attention to the inner kitchen door. She’s absolutely beautiful. Her hair as long and blonde as he remembers, her blue eyes bright and full of love. She wears a suit as well, white, a bright red rose tucked into the lapel. 

“Mum.” he says softly, nearly choking on the tears that suddenly want to fall. She smiles at him. 

“The one and only.” 

“But how?” 

“It’s a long story.” she tells him. “Come along and I’ll do my best to explain.” she holds out her hand and Gendry begins to walk forward only to stop short. 

“Wait, Arya-”

“Arya is fine.” Rose interrupts before he can run off. “She’s got her own conversation to have right now.” His mother had never needed to discipline him as a child. His stoic nature and his desire to remain separate from other people made it near impossible for him to get into trouble, but when she speaks now, it’s with every ounce of authority a mother can muster. He knows then that Arya will be alright. 

“Hey! He got the door open.” Daniel exclaims excitedly. Gendry turns to find the team nearing the door, only to be stopped short by a tall dark skinned man in a white linen suit in the threshold. They scream, jumping back at his sudden appearance. 

“Tonight, you have shown tremendous respect for the Dupree family, and as such you will be rewarded, but tonight is not the night for the world to learn the truth.” and then in an instant the man is gone and the kitchen door swings closed, sealing them out. When they try to peek through the window at him, the curtains draw shut as well. For the first time Gendry feels the shift in atmosphere. Despite the familiar house he’s spent the last several hours in, deep down he knows he’s not in his own world anymore. 

“Now then, shall we?” Rose asks, pulling him from his thoughts. He nods dumbly, following her up the dark stairway in the corner of the kitchen. On the landing at the top she turns right and leads him into the master bedroom. “Your hunch about this case is correct, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about.” she tells him, settling into one of the chairs in the small sitting area. He takes the one across from her but only after she prompts him too, pulling him from his stupor long enough to react. 

“What are we here to talk about?” he asks. 

She smiles kindly at him. “There is so much I want to tell you, but there’s only so much I can say now.” she explains. “So, we’ll focus on what we can do and not what we can’t.”

“Which is?” 

“Arya.” Rose replies. “Right now, down in the parlor, she’s learning something that the members of her family have not known for hundreds of years. She’s learning something that no living person is allowed to write down. She’ll be encouraged to share these things with her aunt, perhaps her father, definitely her cousin, for Jon’s daughters will need this knowledge themselves one day, but other than you, no one else may know.” 

“Alright, it’s a big secret. I think I got that much when you locked me out of the house.” 

Rose chuckles. “That would be Terry. She’s… different than the rest of us.”

“Different? Different how?” 

Rose smiles sweetly. “Let’s start from the beginning.” 

xXx

“You’re here. We’ve been worried about you.” Arya says, her mind finally catching up with her. She hears Gendry on the other side of the door, trying to break it down, but she knows almost instinctively that he won’t be able to. 

Terry smiles, bright and genuine. “I know you have, and I appreciate that more than you could ever know.” Terry moves to the window and draws the curtains, then moves to the next and does the same. The banging on the door stops and Arya looks over her shoulder at it. “He’s going to try the backdoor.” Terry explains. “Come, let’s go somewhere quiet where we can’t be interrupted. We have a lot to discuss and not much time to do it.” 

“What about Gendry?” Arya asks. 

“He’ll be alright. He has a conversation of his own to worry about.” Terry explains gesturing for Arya to follow her. 

Arya obeys, following Terry out of the foyer and into the parlor. The door shuts behind her as she steps in, but all concerns leave her as she spots Lommy standing at the window. Like a few weeks before, he’s still dressed in that impeccable white suit. 

“Hey beautiful.” he greets her, smiling brightly. It’s been so long since she’s seen him smile like this it's… nice. 

“Hi.” she smiles back, feeling yet another weight lift from her chest. 

Lommy moves from his place by the parlor window and gestures to a drop cloth covered sofa. “Come sit with me, it’s time to finally have that talk.” she does, taking one end while Lommy takes the other. Terry slips into the chair opposite them. “Now, let’s start from the beginning.” he continues. “Welcome to the house of Black and White.” 

“The what?” Arya asks confused. 

“The House of Black and White.” Terry repeats. “It’s any place where dark and light spirits congregate in peace and collaboration.” 

“Collaboration?” 

“Yes, not all dark spirits are out to cause chaos and destruction. Some just are the way they are and understand that their existence, like ours, is a matter of balance.” Lommy explains. “It is the responsibility of the light and dark spirits to work together and keep the balance.”

“And how do you do that?” Arya asks. 

“By helping people like you.” Lommy explains. “People like you who draw the attention of one side or the other and run the risk of being manipulated into doing the bidding, willingly or not of one side or the other.” he continues. “The only job of your family is to help earth bound spirits find peace, that’s it. It’s not to sway the dark spirits to the light or command them as some have tried to do. A Ghost Whisperers job is to remain wholly neutral in the constant battle against The Corrupted King.” 

Arya huffs a humorless laugh. “Then why do I feel like I’m being targeted? If my so-called job is to remain unsided?”

“Because you are.” Terry replies. Lommy shoots her a reproachful look. Terry scowls back. “Enough beating around the bush. She’s been asking for answers for years now, just fucking tell her. She deserves to know.” 

Lommy sighs, hesitating and Terry rolls her eyes. 

“The Corrupted King gains power for every earthbound spirit that loses themselves. For every shadow there’s more spiritual energy in his well of power that he can draw on to spread his influence farther.” she explains. “He discovered this around the time your Aunt came of age. Lyanna spent most of her life helping spirits, the way older spirits talk about her, she’s very powerful, very driven to her calling. The more spirits she helped the weaker The Corrupted King became and he quickly started looking for a way to stop her.” 

Arya shakes her head. “But he didn’t. Didn’t stop her I mean. She still helps people. She even stopped practicing to open an antique shop so she would have better access to spirits.” 

“That’s because he almost succeeded.” Lommy finally speaks up again. “He knew he couldn’t go after her directly, it would only make her that much more determined. He couldn’t go after Jon or Rhaegar, because if he hurt or killed either of them, she would only be that much more resolute in her calling.”

“Then how did he get to her?” Arya asks. 

“You.” Lommy tells her, his voice soft. He looks at her sympathetically. “No one can blame you for wanting to be normal. No one, and anyone who does doesn’t understand the things you’ve had to deal with in your life.” he explains. “But The Corrupted King knew that he couldn’t physically hurt you anymore than he could hurt anyone else. So, he influenced you instead.”

“Influenced me?” she asks. 

Lommy nods. “You once told me you didn’t know why you had the sudden urge to go into the archives that day, or why you were suddenly drawn to that one journal, the one hidden among all the others. Well, that’s why. He’s why.” Lommy sighs. “He led you to that ritual. He knew how much you wanted to be rid of your abilities and he knew that if he presented a solution you would take it. So he just gave you a little nudge and you did the rest on your own.” 

Arya sinks back into her seat, her head swimming. For years she had questioned her own decision to perform that ritual, despite the facade she put on for her family. She had never felt further from her family after waking up than she ever did after that moment. Now, despite knowing that the urge to look hadn’t come from her, it did very little to alleviate the guilt that had settled in her heart for years. Because at the end of the day, he only pushed her through the door, it was her own will, her own desire, that led her to actually perform the ritual.

“But it didn’t work.” she finally speaks. 

“No, it didn’t, but that was the point.” Terry explains. “He only wanted to hurt Lyanna, and to do that he knew watching you suffer would be enough. After a while the temporary effects wore off and you all realized it wasn’t a cure, it was a curse.” 

“The fact is, you cut yourself off from your bloodline, which is where the power comes from and thus, where the ability to control it comes from. Without it you’re an unshielded cable picking up everything little thing that even comes close to you. ”

“Is there a way to reverse it?” she asks, though she’s certain if there was her family would have already insisted she do it, if for no other reason than to end the suffering she had gone through. 

“We don’t know for sure, no one, not even the older spirits seem to know. But Lommy and I have been looking.” Terry explains. “So if there is, we’ll find it.” 

Arya nods slowly, everything running through her mind at a rapid pace. And then it hits her. “Wait, if he only wanted to hurt my aunt, why is he coming after me now?” she asks. 

“Hurting Lyanna was the main reason, yes, but it wasn’t the only reason. Without your bloodline you aren’t nearly as powerful as everyone predicted you would be and therefore you aren’t a threat to him like she is.” Lommy explains. “However, he also never counted on you coming to peace with yourself and therefore embracing what you have left to help people.” 

“He was so sure you would never want anything to do with your gift, that he never counted on you falling in love with a man who made you feel like you weren’t a freak.” Terry explains. “You found peace with yourself and that peace is the one thing you needed all along.” 

“Is Gendry in danger?” Arya asks. 

Lommy and Terry share a speaking look and it’s the only answer she needs. “Yes,” Lommy replies. “But you can protect him, you can protect each other.”

She feels a hard nugget of something form in her chest and after a moment she realizes it’s determination. She will protect him. At any cost. 

xXx

“You must protect her.” Rose explains. 

“How?” Gendry asks. “How do I fight what I can’t see?”

“You don’t need to fight it, Gendry, she will do that if she needs to. You only need to be there for her, to love her as you already do, with everything you have in you.” Rose sighs. “I’m not going to lie to you, the rest of her life is going to be like this. She’s going to have to fight for peace and quiet and at any moment something could show up to try to ruin it. Not because of anything she’s done wrong or right, but simply because of her name. It won’t be easy for either of you, but-”

“I’ll do it.” Gendry interrupts her. He sits up straight from his position leaning on his knees. “I’ll do it. I’ve already planned to spend the rest of my life with her, this doesn’t change any of that.” 

Rose stares across at her son, a shine of tears in her eyes. “How does a man, discarded by the people who should love him, bounced from home to home with little love, grow up to be so… incredibly full of love?” she asks softly. 

Gendry smiles. “He had a wonderful mother, even if only for a short time.” 

Rose takes a deep shaking breath, or at least it appears she does, Gendry isn’t entirely sure how that works, and then stands from her seat. “Come on. I’ve told you everything I’m allowed to say for now. Arya should be done about now, let’s go meet them.” 

He doesn’t need to be told twice, following his mother out of the bedroom and back down stairs. As they near the bottom into the foyer, they spot Arya stepping out of the parlor with Terry and Lommy. She sees him, smiling up at him and as if on instinct he hurries past his mother and down the stairs, scooping her into his arms.

“Are you alright?” he asks. He feels her nod where her face is buried in his neck. “Exhausted?” he asks knowingly. She nods again. Then, because it suddenly hits him, and hard, he whispers; “I got to talk to my mum.” 

Arya pulls away to meet him face to face. “What? How?” she asks startled. She looks over his shoulder where Rose is presumably standing. “You can see them?” he nods. “How?” 

“It’s the nature of this place.” Terry explains. Gendry sets Arya on her feet and they both turn to look at her. “This house is home to a vortex, though the energy is dwindling and quickly. Spirits can choose to be seen here, so long as there’s enough energy for us to manipulate.” 

“That's why there aren't a lot of spirits here this evening. Usually this place is packed.” Lommy continues. “The vortex is running out of energy after going strong for so many years.” 

“What happens when it goes out?” Arya asks. 

Lommy shrugs. “We stop meeting here and find a new one.” he explains. “No big deal. We only meet in places like these to discuss current events anyway. Normally we’re out and about on our own or meeting in smaller groups.” 

“So this is that higher calling you were talking about?” Arya asks. Lommy grins. “I’m proud of you.” 

Dramatically, Lommy tugs at his lapels, standing a little straighter and sticking his nose in the air. “Thank you.” 

-

-

-

-

-

Bonus Scene

“The son of the previous owner was having drug problems. I called the precinct and had Delmar look into reports. He’d been arrested a couple of times, but his father always managed to get him out of it.” Gendry explains, leading the way back up the stairs. He stops beneath the attic trap door. “So, I think he robbed the house for drug money, hence the reason nothing important was taken. I’m assuming his parents realized it was him and that was the final straw, because he went into rehab within a few months.” 

Gendry reaches up and pulls the string, letting the attic ladder descend. “Jackson said the attic was condemned on the walk through.” Arya says as he starts up the ladder.

“He did, but in the police report, Jackson mentioned that he had never been up here, only that the previous owner said it was condemned. He was planning on having someone come in within a few months to inspect and fix it, but then Melenie was killed and it was put on hold.” he continues. He leads the way up the ladder, looking over his shoulder to check on Arya. 

“So what does that mean for the case?” she asks. 

“I’ll let you know when I find it.” Gendry replies, pulling the mini mag light out of his pocket. He shines it around the attic, before standing and carefully working his way across the old plank floor. 

“Find what?” she asks, walking close behind him. He stops short near the far wall, pointing his flashlight at the ground. “Oh, that. Is that blood?” she asks, stepping around him. She crouches down inspecting the large, dark brown stain. “Looks like very old dried blood.” 

Gendry moves the light to the wall ahead before moving toward it. He pokes at the boards until he finds a loose one. “Hold this.” he tells her, holding out the light to her. She takes it, pointing it at the board. With two hands he tugs at it, trying to pry it loose until eventually it gives way, nearly sending him sprawling on his ass. 

“Whoa.” Arya mutters, pointing the light into the hollow space behind the boards. Beyond the wall lays several pieces, all high end, all reported missing by the Rubini family. 

“The son stashes the pieces in the attic so if the police figure it out he won’t be caught with them, then when his parents find out they leave them as a testament to his sins.” 

“But why was Melenie killed? All of this stuff was stolen years before she moved in and the statute of limitations was up on the crime. The worst that could happen was a scandal in the papers.” 

“That  _ is  _ the worst possible outcome for  _ Jack Rubini _ .” Gendry tells her and it takes a moment for her to realize why that name sounds familiar. 

“The senator?” she asks. 

Gendry nods. “He ran on a campaign of cleaning up the drug problem in the inner cities and was elected because his plans actually helped people, not just threw them in prison to be out of sight out of mind. He used his own story to become more sympathetic to voters.” 

“So what? He comes back here when he finds out they’re going to have the attic evaluated, tries to take everything out so it won’t be found and Melenie catches him?” 

“Mhmm.” Gendry hums. “He thinks they’re all out of town, but Melenie sneaks up on him, he turns, instinctively strikes out with the crowbar he had,” Gendry gestures to the dents and cracks in the board where it was pried up. “And kills her. Melenie was a University athlete in her youth, she probably turned to duck and got clipped in the back of the head. Full of remorse, he takes her down to the bedroom and lays her in bed.” 

“So it was an accident.”

“More than likely.” Gendry explains. “If he had been caught he could have easily spun the whole thing, used it as proof that helping people going through tough times is more important than shaming them, but it was probably better to ensure the stuff wasn’t found anyway, just in case it came back on his family. They had done so much for him already.” 

Arya sighs, then; “So your mum told you all this?” 

“I mean, I had the broad strokes.” Gendry defends immediately. 

Arya laughs. “Come on Detective Mind, let’s get out of here before we catch something.” 

Gendry scowls. “I swear I’m going to kill Delmar.”


End file.
